Bog Wallow Ambush
| place = Fairfax County, Virginia | result = Union victory | combatant1 = United States (Union) | combatant2 = CSA (Confederacy) | commander1 = George W. Taylor | commander2 = J. Fred. Waring | strength1 = 55 | strength2 = 24 | casualties1 = 4 | casualties2 = 5}} The Bog Wallow Ambush was a small unit action during the American Civil War that took place between Confederate forces under Captain J. Fred. Waring and Union forces under Colonel George W. Taylor on December 4, 1861, in Fairfax County, Virginia, as part of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's operations in northern Virginia. The Union force set up an ambush for the Confederate force on the Braddock Road. The action resulted in a Union victory. Background Following the Battle of Ball's Bluff on October 21, 1861, major offensive action was halted in the eastern theater, as both armies went into winter quarters. Small detachments were still occasionally sent out to probe the enemy's position and to obtain forage. On the night of November 5, 1861, a shootout occurred between members of the units later involved in the ambush at Oak Hill mansion, in an area of such probing and patrolling.A Look Back at Braddock District Fairfax County, Virginia Oak Hill: Civil War Skirmish Members of the Union force also intended to retaliate for the Confederate force's attacks on Union pickets. Opposing forces Confederate Commander: Capt J. Fred Waring Georgia Hussars (later Jeff Davis Cavalry Legion, Company 'F') Union Commander: Col George W. Taylor 3rd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, part of the First New Jersey Brigade The action On December 4, 1861, 3rd New Jersey Infantry troops stretched two telegraph wires across Braddock Road at the eastern end of a "perfect bog hole" to dismount riders of the Georgia Hussars in the middle of the night. A "sheet of fire" erupted from the tree line along the swamp's edge when this happened; the Confederates returned fire and escaped, with casualties on both sides. Results This was a small unit action of no strategic importance and resulted in only light casualties. However, it is representative of many such actions in northern Virginia during the early part of the American Civil War. Commemoration A new historic marker was unveiled May 5, 2013 at the intersection of Braddock Road and Dunleigh Drive in Burke to commemorate the “Bog Wallow Ambush.” The marker is just outside Annandale, between Rolling Road and Guinea Road.Annandale VA Historic marker commemorates Bog Wallow Ambush Notes References *Salmon, John S. The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide.''Stackpole Books; Mechanicsburg, Pa. 2001. *Evans, Thomas J and James M. Moyer. ''Mosby's Confederacy:A Guide to the Roads and Sites of Colonel John Singleton Mosby. White Mane Publishing Company, Inc. Shippensburg, Pa. 1991. External links * Bog Wallow Ambush Historical Marker Fairfax County History Commission * A Look Back at Braddock District Fairfax County, Virginia Historical Marker: Bog Wallow Ambush * A Look Back at Braddock District Fairfax County, Bog Wallow Ambush on Braddock Road * Annandale VA Historic marker commemorates Bog Wallow Ambush Category:Battles for McClellan's Operations in Northern Virginia of the American Civil War Category:Battles of the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War Category:Union victories of the American Civil War Category:Virginia in the American Civil War Category:Fairfax County in the American Civil War Category:1861 in Virginia Category:Conflicts in 1861